Teachers in Rhode Island currently maintain their certification by showing evidence of continuous professional development. Creating an IPlan and reviewing the IPlan of a peer is a unit-wide assignment in the School of Education for all student teachers. The steps below are designed to guide you through this process so that we can complete it efficiently.
Complete the form based on one of the lessons you taught last week. Be sure to write down specific evidence from either your lesson plan or your memory of your enactment for each assessment you give.
Use a highlighter to identify areas of your teaching/lesson that were either below standard or that you feel needs improvement
Synthesize your review by completing the following table as best your can:
What is the need?
How will improvement help your students?
How will improvement help your school?
RIBT Standard/Element Addressed?
1.
Utilization of differentiated strategies and accommodations to fully support all identified INDIVIDUAL instructional needs of students
Differentiated strategies and activities will allow more students to fully grasp concepts in their own way
SALT pointed out Cole needs to reach more of the lower preforming students and improve
RIBTS 4.1
2.
3.
4.
Formulate a professional development goal based the needs that you have identified. This goal should be:
measurable/observable
should lead to improvement of teaching, student achievement, and/or improvement of learning environment.
should describe new knowledge or skills that you will acquire and how that knowledge/skill will affect the school/district setting.
linked to applicable Rhode Island Beginning Teacher Standards and elements, e.g. RIBTS 2.4.
In the space below, describe your professional development goal. In a second paragraph, use the information above to provide a rationale for your goal by explaining the personal need that it will address as well as how addressing this goal benefits your students and your school.
I. Professional Development Goal
A course of professional development I plan on embarking upon, during my first year teaching is to improve my ability to differentiate lessons to accommodate students on a more individual basis. I would like to be able to modify many of my classroom activities, and even homework assignments so that they meet the needs of individual students. Although I do implement differentiated activities, and modify major tests and quizzes, the modifications or differentiation strategies usually result in simply two versions of the assignment, rather than an individual modification based upon individual student needs. I believe I need instruction on the variety of differentiation strategies I can employ in the classroom, so as I am well equipped, and ready to take on a variety of modifications to meet the vast array of needs displayed within my student population.
Based on SALT survey results, it was recommended that Cole Middle School make a greater effort to reach more of their lower preforming student population and improve student achievement. I believe that by increasing my own knowledge of different modifications and differentiation strategies, I can help the school succeed in improving the achievement of lower preforming students. This population of students do not lack ability, they simply need a teacher who is in tune with their individual needs, and is prepared to address each need. Different modification, and differentiated instruction strategies can help to decrease the likely hood that students are left behind, or are unable to complete the assignment at hand.
Now that you have a PD goal, think about what type of learning opportunities you will participate in to address your needs. Use these links to investigate learning options:
Based on what you have found out, write a 1-2 paragraph narrative outlining at least two ways (PD categories) you will engage in by the end of your first year of teaching. For each activity, explain how you think it will address the need that you have identified.
II. Professional Development Plan
I would like to attend a workshop, or conference where the focus was introducing new differentiation strategies to use in the classroom. It would be ideal if this workshop focused on science education, but I would also attend if it was a workshop focusing on differentiation across the contents. I feel that if I were introduced to new strategies, I would enter the classroom with a broader knowledge, base and be able to reach a broader range of needs my students have. By attending a workshop I would also be surrounded by other teachers, who may have more experience or who have tried different strategies that I had not previously thought of or tried. Connecting to colleagues outside of your school can be a great way to accumulate new ideas, that actually have been tested, and are stamped with a teacher's approval.
I would also like to take another course at the university level, which focuses on differentiation. University courses are an excellent source of information, because professors tend to present information that is backed by research. Not only would I be able to gather more ideas for differentiation strategies, but I would have the added bonus of knowing what I was trying out in the classroom was backed by educational research.
Print your PD plan to PDF
Post your PD Plan to True Outcomes
Return to True Outcomes to evaluate a peer's plan the following week.
EDC 484 IPlan Peer Evaluation
Teachers in Rhode Island currently maintain their certification by showing evidence of continuous professional development. Creating an IPlan and reviewing the IPlan of a peer is a unit-wide assignment in the School of Education for all student teachers. The steps below are designed to guide you through this process so that we can complete it efficiently.Formulate a professional development goal based the needs that you have identified. This goal should be:
In the space below, describe your professional development goal. In a second paragraph, use the information above to provide a rationale for your goal by explaining the personal need that it will address as well as how addressing this goal benefits your students and your school.
I. Professional Development Goal
A course of professional development I plan on embarking upon, during my first year teaching is to improve my ability to differentiate lessons to accommodate students on a more individual basis. I would like to be able to modify many of my classroom activities, and even homework assignments so that they meet the needs of individual students. Although I do implement differentiated activities, and modify major tests and quizzes, the modifications or differentiation strategies usually result in simply two versions of the assignment, rather than an individual modification based upon individual student needs. I believe I need instruction on the variety of differentiation strategies I can employ in the classroom, so as I am well equipped, and ready to take on a variety of modifications to meet the vast array of needs displayed within my student population.
Based on SALT survey results, it was recommended that Cole Middle School make a greater effort to reach more of their lower preforming student population and improve student achievement. I believe that by increasing my own knowledge of different modifications and differentiation strategies, I can help the school succeed in improving the achievement of lower preforming students. This population of students do not lack ability, they simply need a teacher who is in tune with their individual needs, and is prepared to address each need. Different modification, and differentiated instruction strategies can help to decrease the likely hood that students are left behind, or are unable to complete the assignment at hand.
Based on what you have found out, write a 1-2 paragraph narrative outlining at least two ways (PD categories) you will engage in by the end of your first year of teaching. For each activity, explain how you think it will address the need that you have identified.
II. Professional Development Plan
I would like to attend a workshop, or conference where the focus was introducing new differentiation strategies to use in the classroom. It would be ideal if this workshop focused on science education, but I would also attend if it was a workshop focusing on differentiation across the contents. I feel that if I were introduced to new strategies, I would enter the classroom with a broader knowledge, base and be able to reach a broader range of needs my students have. By attending a workshop I would also be surrounded by other teachers, who may have more experience or who have tried different strategies that I had not previously thought of or tried. Connecting to colleagues outside of your school can be a great way to accumulate new ideas, that actually have been tested, and are stamped with a teacher's approval.
I would also like to take another course at the university level, which focuses on differentiation. University courses are an excellent source of information, because professors tend to present information that is backed by research. Not only would I be able to gather more ideas for differentiation strategies, but I would have the added bonus of knowing what I was trying out in the classroom was backed by educational research.